All the blog posts, with a select collection of blog posts from old website pre-2022.
Some of the older posts are archived here not so much for posterity as transparency/ Comments have been turned off.
B.C. tenants are about to get hit with the largest rent increases allowed in five years
Why I’m running for City Council
My speech to the Vancouver Greens, accepting my nomination to run in the October 14 by-election.
Thanks everyone. Even though I’m being acclaimed tonight, I don’t take this nomination for granted. Thank you for your faith and confidence in me, and in the Green Party of Vancouver.
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On rental housing
Ever wonder why so much of our city’s (dwindling) affordable rental stock are of a 50’s-60’s-early 70s vintage?
The City tries to incentivize rentals with density bonuses, the Province tries to support rentals with subsidies — what’s been missing is the Feds and the support for rentals with tax breaks and deductions.
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Concord Pacific affordable artist studio clickbait
The story about the massive development corporation including 20 affordable artist live work studios in its Concord Gardens project sounds great –but on a closer critical review, it is quite literally the least they can do.
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Mayor a day late and a dollar short on issue of pre-sales
Summer 2017, and the mayor is only now hearing concerns about overseas pre-sales & insider trading of #VanRE condos?
We (Vancouver Greens) called out this issue in 2014, the BC Greens called for taxing pre-sales in the BC Election earlier this year, VanRE pundits have been flagging this issue for YEARS..
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How and for who does the city define public benefits?
A massive development rezoning, estimated worth over a billion dollars in market value. The luxury tower project being proposed by a well-connected and influential developer will reportedly deliver close to $90 million in public benefits spread out over several years.
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Thoughts on VAHA’s new micro-suite development
Thoughts on new micro-suite development on 100 block West Pender by Vancouver’s Affordable Housing Agency.
The conditions of this rezoning are consistent with how Vision Vancouver redefined “social housing” in their 2014 DTES Plan. For this proposed social housing project, only 30 of the 90 micro-suites will rent for under $1000/mo.
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By-election to fill council seat vacated by Geoff Meggs could leave lasting mark on Vancouver politics
Could Green party activist Pete Fry be Vancouver’s next city councillor?
Normally, municipal by-elections for council seats are not a big deal, especially when one party will retain power regardless of the outcome.
But the resignation of Vision Vancouver councillor Geoff Meggs creates some intriguing possibilities.
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Pete Fry: B.C. election could transform development picture, starting with 105 Keefer rezoning
Will the winds of political change bring a breath of fresh air for Chinatown?
As news broke Monday of the historic NDP-Green deal to form a progressive government for our province, I was waiting at city hall, one of hundreds of speakers over four days testifying before city council in defence of Chinatown.
From Grenfell to Balmoral: The case for public housing
As I post this, authorities are still determining the loss of life from the smouldering remnants of the 24-story Grenfell Tower in West London. Videos and images of the early morning towering inferno leave little doubt that the final tally of casualties and loss of life will be grim. Gut-wrenching stories of trapped residents, parents desperately trying to save their babies by dropping them from upper floors to rescuers below. This, the stuff of absolute nightmares.
It’s too soon to guess the cause of the fire at Grenfell, but what we do know is that the residents of the building had been complaining for years about the appalling state of disrepair and dereliction of duty toward safety. Ultimately though, the cause of this tragedy is privatization of public housing.
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Will the winds of political change bring a breath of fresh air for Chinatown?
At issue: the re-zoning proposal for a new large scale condo development in the fragile heritage neighbourhood. This latest in a series of rejected applications by Beedie Developments for the block next to the Chinese Classical Gardens and Cultural Centre has been met by resistance every step of the way.
Chinatown advocates are right to be concerned; after years of neglect, recent big block condo developments in the name of renewal have radically transformed the neighbourhood.
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Last Call for Chinatown
Tomorrow, Friday March 31st is the public’s last opportunity to provide feedback on the City of Vancouver’s disastrous new planning policy for Chinatown before the proposal goes to City Council. The Chinatown Economic Revitalization Update and Development Policies being proposed by the planning department favour big developers and development in the fragile heritage neighbourhood and will cause permanent and irreversible damage to historic Chinatown.
There are a lot of concerns with the new planning policy, but the literal and figurative big one is large lot assembly. Typical Chinatown lot sizes are 25 feet wide, the new plan would allow assemblies of up to eight lots, for 200 foot frontages.
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